N.C.'s greatest athletes by number

Andy Bershak made the list, but not Arnold Palmer? Bobby Hurley made it, but not Christian Laettner? Julius Peppers by his college number, but Lawrence Taylor by his pro number?

What kind of list is this?

It's a list of the greatest athletes in North Carolina history, by uniform number.

Some were easy. Any all-time ranking in this state begins at No. 23 with Michael Jordan. David Thompson was a lock at 44.

Some choices were downright painful. How do you choose among Lennie Rosenbluth, Dick Groat and Ron Francis as the best No. 10? The group at 24 is loaded -- Dickie Hemric, Walter Davis, Tommy Burleson, Johnny Dawkins, Jamal Mashburn. We chose someone else.

At other numbers, we had to scrounge just to find a name or two. Elmore Hackney ring a bell?

We considered native Tar Heels who achieved greatness elsewhere, as well as out-of-staters who starred here. We took high school, college and professional accomplishments into account, though it helped to have all three.

Obviously, many athletes have worn more than one number. Most are listed here by the number for which they're best remembered, but you'll see a little creative accounting here and there. We plugged in a few players where we needed them most to arrive at the most talented overall list. (If we put Peppers at 90, his pro number, Mario Williams is out. If Williams goes to 9, his college number, then Sonny Jurgensen ... well, you get the idea.)

Arnie didn't make it because golfers don't wear numbers. Joan Benoit Samuelson, who ran for N.C. State, wore a different number at every marathon.

Some athletes competed before numbers came into fashion, or so long ago we couldn't verify them.

You won't find Dean Smith. He's known for his coaching career, not his athletic prowess.

You won't find Carl Yastrzemski or any other great baseball player who made a minor league stop in North Carolina. There are simply too many of them -- and too many missing records.

Now it's your turn. Let us know where you disagree or know of someone we overlooked.

Andy Bershak could use some competition.